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The in-vitro and in-vivo antifungal activities of saponin extracted from Phyllanthus niruri were investigated. The proximate composition of the plant determined using the methods of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists showed that the moisture, dry matter, crude protein, crude fibre, total ash and fat were available in 1.34 g, 98.66 g, 12.33 g 18.45 g, 7.36 g and 2.54 g/100 g respectively. The elemental analysis determined using the Flame- Photometric method reveals the presence of major, minor and trace elements in appreciable quantities. Nine elements; Zn Mn, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Fe and P were present. The susceptibility of three Trichophyton species determined by the radial- mycelial methods showed that T. mentagrophytes was more susceptible to the saponin. These favourable effects point to the potential of the saponin as a remedy against mycotic infections caused by T. mentagrophytes. The fact that this extract exerted an inhibitory effect on these epidermal fungi indicates that they can potentially be further developed into antifungal clinically used agents.

The antimicrobial activity of saponin extracted from Phyllanthus niruri was investigated on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used to determine the structure spectra of the extracted purified saponin. The 13carbon NMR predicted on the basis of chemical shift that appeared in the resonances of 20 – 60 ppm gave a structure named Phylagenin-13-O-α-D-glucopyranoside and Phylagenin-25-O-β-D-glucopyra-noside. The susceptibility profile of MRSA determined by the agar-diffusion method showed that 97.0% and 90.0% of the test bacterium were resistant to Tetracycline and Cotrimoxazole respectively and 60% of the bacterium was susceptible to saponin extract. The ability of saponin extracted from P. niruri to treat clinical manifestation like chest congestion and skin desquamation from which S. aureus resistant to conventional antibiotics have been isolated has been confirmed in this study. The fact that this extract exerted an inhibitory effect on MRSA indicates that they can potentially be further developed into antimicrobial clinically used agents.

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